Ship Supply International, a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, has acquired R.S. Stern, a last-mile provider of supplies and equipment to ships. This add-on is Ship Supply’s second acquisition in the last six months. In February the company acquired Houston-based Alliance Supply Management, a provider of similar services as R.S. Stern.
According to H.I.G., R.S. Stern is America’s oldest ship chandler – a provider of perishable and non-perishable provisions, cabin equipment, bonded stores and deck and engine supplies (ship stores) – for cargo ships, passenger cruise ships, and other vessels. The company was founded in 1870 by Robert S. Stern. In 1966 the Stern family sold the business to Louis Crystal and is today run by CEO Alan Kotz, Mr. Crystal’s grandson. R.S. Stern is headquartered in Baltimore (www.rsstern.com).
Ship Supply International, acquired by H.I.G. in November 2015, provides last-mile delivery of products and maritime services to cruise, cargo and military marine vessels. The company utilizes an asset-light business model and serves customers in over 100 domestic and international ports. Ship Supply was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Miami. The company is led by its president Christian Giannakopoulos (www.shipsup.com).
H.I.G. will continue to seek regional add-ons for Ship Supply that expand the company’s geographic footprint, product portfolio and customer base with the ultimate goal of building a global commercial port logistics services company.
“R.S. Stern augments our recent acquisition of Alliance Supply and continues the growth of the Ship Supply platform,” said Jeff Zanarini, a Managing Director at H.I.G. “This transaction demonstrates our continued commitment to the maritime logistics sector and is another example of our ability to find and quickly execute on high-quality add-ons for Ship Supply.”
H.I.G. Capital specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. has more than $20 billion of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1993 and is based in Miami with additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro (www.higcapital.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 6-29-16